A BUDDING nuclear physics expert was given a tour of Sellafield after sharing his advice on decommissioning with site bosses.

School pupil Samuel Boardman, 11 had wowed decommissioning leaders with a letter detailing how he would deal with emptying the highly-hazardous ponds.

Samuel, from north Wales, came up with a proposal using similar techniques to those already being used.

So impressed was Dorothy Gradden, the head of the legacy ponds at Sellafield, she offered Samuel and his family the chance to come and see the site for himself.

The visit saw Mrs Gradden and Steve Cottam, head of strategy and technical for the legacy ponds, give a personalised presentation to the Boardman family.

They were also shown the Thorp viewing gallery, National Nuclear Laboratory and the underwater test facility.

Mrs Gradden, who was awarded an OBE last year for her services to the nuclear industry, said: “As a passionate supporter of education and training, I was hugely impressed by Samuel’s highly-detailed letter.

“I value the importance of nurturing nuclear interest in youngsters, and it was a pleasure to meet Samuel so I could talk to him about his proposals and show him exactly how we are dealing with the nuclear clean-up."

Samuel described himself as a "nuclear physics expert" in his letter to Sellafield, and his dad Chris said: “It was a wonderful experience for Samuel and the whole family.

"We were amazed by complexity of the incredible work being done.

“The effort that Sellafield put into making a little boy’s dream come true was greatly appreciated. "